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Monday, February 13

Nestled in Ramen Champion Bugis+, Don Meijin offers an assortment of donburi at affordable prices. Be spoilt for choices and tuck into tendon, katsudon, roast beef don and butadon offerings right here.

Don Meijin’s signature is its voluminous rice bowls prepared using premium quality ingredients with homemade sauces. All rice bowls are served with a bed of short grain Japanese rice that are specially imported from Hokkaido. The rice when cooked glistens and boasts a consistent al dente quality.

One of the marquee dishes is the local-inspired Spicy Chilli Crab Tendon (S$14.80). Featuring perfectly fried prawns, asparagus, pumpkin, seasonal fish fillet, eggplant and kakiage, it is then drenched in a homemade spicy chilli crab sauce that kicks up the flavour by several notches. The sauce takes more than 4 hours to prepare, and freshly boiled chicken broth is one of the ingredients. Chunks of snow crab are added to it, and the chef has added Japanese soy sauce and mirin to achieve a distinctive flavour.

The restaurant also doles out five other tendon offerings, including Signature Tendon (S$13.80) which can be enjoyed in two ways (with a top-up of $2). Taste the original tendon with crisp-fried tempura offerings. Then, add rice crisp and wasabi together with hot dashi soup over the remaining rice – this is another popular way of enjoying Tendon in Japan.

The secret recipe to Don Meijin’s crispy mainstays was derived after experimenting with numerous versions of tempura batter. The tempura offerings are fried at a specific temperature in a water fryer. The water cleans and helps prevent degradation of the oil as well as filters food residues to keep the oil clear. As such, each tempura boasts a light and non-unctuous texture.

Instead of deep-frying a slab of pork loin, the chef uses a total of 14 layers thinly sliced and marinated pork loin for Mille Feuille Katsu Don (S$12.80). The slices are then coated with nama panko: fresh breadcrumbs that are larger than their counterparts, and have yet been dried. The result is an extremely chunky and crunchy exterior.

Another must try is the Pork Shogayaki Don ($12.80), one of the favourite stables amongst Japanese. The flavours of spicy ginger (shoga) and soy sauce with a touch of sweetness from Mirin pair perfectly with steamed Japanese rice.Don Meijin
Bugis+ #04 - 10 Singapore 188607